IRE 2007 EPS fall, as NAV and dividend increase

International Real Estate, a property investment and development company listed on the AIM segment of the London stock exchange, said its 2007 earnings per share (EPS) slipped to EUR 1.35 from EUR 1.59 the previous year, as its net asset value per share headed the other direction, rising to EUR 6.18 from EUR 4.98. Total group net asset increased to about EUR 42.8 mln from EUR 34.5 mln, IRE said, while total group assets increased to about EUR 226.3 mln in 2007 from EUR 129.1 mln.

IRE said it also planned to pay out a final dividend of 5 pence (EUR 0.07) per share, bringing the total for the year to 10 pence. That is up from the 9 pence seen in 2006 and the company said it was cautiously optimistic about its prospects for 2008. It said that ongoing refurbishment programmes aimed at improved lettings, rental levels and technical standards of its properties, should add to value going forward.

‘The quality of our portfolio in Germany and Belgium, coupled with active management has resulted in encouraging investment returns for the year,’ IRE CEO Daniel Akselson said in a statement. ‘While we naturally remain cautious following the credit crunch and subsequent difficulties being experienced in the property market, we are optimistic about the potential of our carefully chosen projects.’

Separately, IRE also released 2007 figures for its Dutch subsidiary IRE German Property Holding. GPH swung to an after-tax loss of EUR 0.3 mln in 2007 from a profit of EUR 10.4 mln in the like, year-earlier period on 2007 revenues of EUR 7.6 mln. GPH’s property portfolio, consisting of 24 German property assets with a total of 119,144 m2, had a book value at end-2007 of EUR 117.6 mln.